(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will be eligible for new grant funding following a series of bomb threats made against them.
The Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) program under the Department of Education is intended to enhance campus security and provide mental health resources by providing short-term, immediate funding for institutions that have experienced a “violent or traumatic incident.”
Harris “will make clear that every American should be able to learn, work, worship, and gather without fear,” a White House official told ABC News. The announcement will be made at the White House on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
HBCUs targeted by the threats could receive grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 per campus and will be determined based on specific needs. No bombs were found.
The campuses of at least 36 HBCUs and other colleges have been targeted by threats and at least 18 of these colleges and universities were targeted on Feb. 1 alone — the first day of Black History Month.
Institutions went into lockdown or evacuated the campus while local law enforcement agencies investigated the threats.
“Threats to the education and well-being of Black Americans and HBCUs are an unfortunate part of American history,” the press release read. “The bomb threats that we witnessed in January, each week in February – Black History Month, and this month are reminiscent of the attempts during the Civil Rights Era to intimidate and provoke fear in Black Americans.”
These threats came as hate crimes against Black Americans are on the rise, increasing by nearly 50% between 2019 and 2020, according to the FBI.
Several federal agencies are taking on this issue. The Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have met with HBCU leaders on tools they can use to strengthen campus security.
A Congressional hearing is also being held on Thursday to hear what the federal government can do to support HBCUs.
(WASHINGTON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a historic, virtual address to Congress on Wednesday to plead with the U.S. to do more to help stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a speech to Ukrainians earlier Wednesday, Zelenskyy called his upcoming address to Congress “a speech from all of us, from each of our defenders, from each of our citizens, for the most powerful democracy in the world — for the state and the people, who can do a lot to stop Russian aggression, to restore peace on our land,” he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the Ukrainian president and led members in chanting, “Slava Ukraini” or “Glory to heroes” in Ukrainian.
“Glory to heroes,” Zelenskyy repeated. “Thank you very much, madam speaker, members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen, Americans, friends, I’m proud to greet you from Ukraine from our capital city of Kyiv, a city that is under missile and air strikes from Russian troops every day, but it doesn’t give up — and we have not even thought about it for a second.”
In an emotional appeal, Zelenskyy asked Americans to put themselves in the shoes of Ukrainians by remembering Pearl Harbor “when your sky was black from the planes attacking you” and the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories on battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air, yes, just like no one else expected it, you could not stop it,” he said. “Our country experiences the same thing every day, right now at this moment, every night for three weeks now various Ukrainian cities — Mariupol and Kharkiv — Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people.”
President Joe Biden would be watching Zelenskyy’s address to the degree his schedules allows, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, and will also give an address of his own afterward, detailing what the U.S. is doing for “Ukrainian security assistance.”
He gave something of a preemptive response in remarks to reporters on Tuesday while signing a $1.5 trillion government funding bill, which includes $13.6 billion in supplemental aid to Ukraine.
“We’ve been providing anti-armor — taking out tanks, anti-air capabilities, directly — directly to the Ukrainian forces. And we’re also facilitating significant shipments of security assistance from our Allied partners to Ukraine,” Biden said. “With this new security funding … we’re moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country.”
While the U.S. has imposed a slate of economic and trade sanctions to isolate Putin, the Biden administration has flatly and repeatedly rejected a no-fly zone, as well as U.S. troops fighting Russia in Ukraine and any help delivering MiG-29 fighter jets that Poland wants to get to the Ukrainians. It’s also unclear whether Congress might try to move to act unilaterally if the White House doesn’t take more action.
(WASHINGTON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to deliver a historic, virtual address to Congress on Wednesday to plead with the U.S. to do more to help stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a speech to Ukrainians earlier Wednesday, Zelenskyy called his upcoming address to Congress “an important speech.”
“A speech from all of us, from each of our defenders, from each of our citizens, for the most powerful democracy in the world — for the state and the people, who can do a lot to stop Russian aggression, to restore peace on our land,” he said.
Although it’s unclear whether Zelenskyy will pressure President Joe Biden by name to have NATO impose a no-fly zone, Biden will be watching Zelenskyy’s address at 9 a.m., White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, and will also give an address of his own afterward, detailing what the U.S. is doing for “Ukrainian security assistance.”
He gave something of a preemptive response in remarks to reporters on Tuesday while signing a $1.5 trillion government funding bill, which includes $13.6 billion in supplemental aid to Ukraine.
“We’ve been providing anti-armor — taking out and air capabilities — directly, directly to the Ukrainian forces. We’re also facilitating significant shipments of security assistance from our allied partners to Ukraine,” Biden said. “With this new security funding … we’re moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country.”
While the U.S. has imposed a slate of economic and trade sanctions to isolate Putin, the Biden administration has flatly and repeatedly rejected a no-fly zone, as well as U.S. troops fighting Russia in Ukraine and any help delivering MiG-29 fighter jets that Poland wants to get to the Ukrainians. It’s also unclear whether Congress might try to move to act unilaterally if the White House doesn’t take more action.
Zelenskyy’s virtual address will air at 9 a.m. on ABC News Live.
What Zelenskyy’s remarks might look like
Zelenskyy’s address to Congress is expected to be similar to the one he made to Canada’s Parliament on Tuesday, according to a Ukrainian official familiar with the remarks.
Addressing those lawmakers, Zelenskyy, in an emotional appeal for a no-fly zone, said that at least 97 Ukrainian children have been killed in the last 20 days in onslaught ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are not asking for much,” he said. “We’re asking for justice, for real support, which will help us to prevail, to defend, to save lives.”
He called for more sanctions on Russia and for businesses to end their operations there and repeated his pleas for “aerial support.”
“Close the sky, close the airspace,” he continued. “Please understand how important it is for us to close our airspace from Russian missiles and Russian aircraft.”
Zelenskyy received a standing ovation, both before and after his remarks, but his central plea — for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine — has met with no success not just with the U.S. but with other NATO nations as well. He seized the chance to get personal with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling on Canadians to imagine they were under attack — something he may do as well speaking to Congress, with Americans watching a live stream of his remarks.
“How much more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?” he asked. “We’re asking for more of your leadership and, please, take more, greater part in these efforts, Justin, and all of our friends of Ukraine.”
Pleas for a no-fly zone
Given Zelenskyy’s pleas, Psaki was pressed Tuesday on how the administration planned to deal with the likely request for measures like closing the airspace above Ukraine.
“I would say that without knowing what he’s going to say tomorrow, we certainly are familiar with what the asks have been. We have provided our own assessment of what does make sense and doesn’t make sense,” Psaki said, noting the additional funding to Ukraine Biden was signing.
Another reporter followed up, “Is Zelenskyy wasting his time tomorrow asking for these things?”
“Because of the passion and the courage and the bravery of President Zelenskyy, there has been support for expediting the delivery of a historic amount of military and security assistance and weapons that have helped him and his military fight back against the Russians,” Psaki said. “And I would say that, yes, we recognize there are a range of bipartisan calls, but what we have the responsibility to do here is to assess what the impact is on the United States and our own national security.”
Psaki added that a no-fly zone “essentially means us shooting down Russian planes, and them essentially shooting back at us.”
As the shelling of civilian residences continues in Ukraine, Biden said last week Russia would pay a “severe price” if it used chemical weapons — but the White House has refused to detail what those consequences would look like. Former President Barack Obama drew a red line on chemical weapons in Syria, but despite pressure from Congress, the administration has hesitated to declare the same.
While Zelenskyy has been vocal in pushing the West to do more, members of both parties in Congress have also pressed Biden to do more to step up aid and led the charge for trade sanctions the White House ultimately took on last week.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused the administration on Tuesday of “dragging its heels” in getting aid to Ukraine.
Asked how lawmakers might navigate having to deny Zelenskyy some of the security measures he may request of them, McConnell indicated he would agree to what Zelenskyy is asking, aside from imposing a no-fly zone.
“My guess is that everything he is going to request is something we ought to be doing, and so my individual response to that would be yes,” McConnell said. “The administration needs to get the message they need to help the Ukrainians in every conceivable way we need to do it, and we need to do it right now — not only us but our NATO allies — who seem to be way more anxious than this administration to help the Ukrainians.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the invitation to Zelenskyy to speak to Congress “one of the highest honors” bestowed by the body on a foreign head of state.
“We have all been inspired by the courage of President Zelenskyy and that of the Ukrainian people. President Zelenskyy can rest assured that he will always have friends in Congress ready to listen to stand in his corner, and we’re honored to have him speak to us later this week,” he said on the Senate floor Monday.
As he continues his appeals to the West, the Ukrainian president last week also became the first foreign leader to virtually address the U.K.’s House of Commons and echoed Winston Churchill’s famous June 1940 speech after Allied forces pulled off the “miracle of Dunkirk.”
“We will not give up, and we will not lose. We will fight till the end – at sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets,” he said, met, again, with a standing ovation.
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Penelope Lopez, Luis Martinez, Conor Finnegan, Sarah Kolinovsky, Molly Nagle, Trish Turner and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — On her 18th birthday, just days into her freshman year at Harvard in 1988, Ketanji Brown Jackson says she broke down in tears on the university library steps, overcome by homesickness and seeking solace in faith.
“Even in my loneliness, I thanked God for the opportunity he’d given me, for the firm foundation he had provided, and also for how far I had come,” Jackson recounted years later in an address to graduates of Montrose Christian School, a private Baptist-affiliated high school in Rockville, Maryland, where she served on the advisory board.
“The Bible is filled with people who, through faith, were able to see beyond the present, to a world of hope and glory,” she said, according to a copy of the 2011 speech reviewed by ABC News. “God knows what lies ahead of each of us. The best that you can do, as you look forward, is to take the long view.”
Just over a decade later, Jackson addressed the nation from the White House as the first Black woman ever nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Putting her faith into public view, she opened her remarks by “thanking God for delivering me to this point.”
“I do know that one can only come this far by faith,” Jackson said during the nationally televised nomination ceremony last month.
Jackson’s faith will share the spotlight with her judicial philosophy, legal training and career experience next week as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee examine her record for key sources of influence ahead of voting whether to recommend her confirmation to the high court.
“A judge’s life experience — whether its religion or jobs or what part of the country they grew up in — affects how they view the law,” said ABC News legal analyst Sarah Isgur.
Friends and former colleagues close to Jackson have described her religious practice as private and deeply personal, neither a frequent topic of conversation nor an overly outward display. She identifies as a Protestant Christian, one Jackson associate, who asked to speak anonymously due to sensitivity of the matter, told ABC News.
The Montrose Christian School commencement address is one of just two public speeches — among more than 2,000 pages of Jackson’s personal records supplied to the Senate — that include references to God and the Bible.
In 2017, Jackson spoke at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland, for an adult education program entitled “The Concept of Justice.” “The Bible is also filled with stories that have as their subtext the fact men must face consequence in the wake of their moral failings,” she said, according to a copy of remarks provided to the Senate.
The most prominent religious affiliation on Jackson’s public resume is her advisory board role at Montrose Christian School between 2010 and 2011, where she focused primarily on fundraising, she testified last year. The private K-12 institution closed permanently in 2013, two years after she left the position.
The school’s website directs visitors to a statement of beliefs from the Montrose Baptist Church which says, in part, that Christians are obligated to oppose homosexuality, abortion and same-sex marriage, and advocates a wife’s subservience to her husband — all positions in contrast with key planks of the Democratic platform.
Jackson said last year that she was not familiar with the website at the time of her service.
During Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation process in 2020, several Democrats suggested that her position on the board of a group of private Christian schools affiliated with the conservative Catholic community People of Praise meant she could not be impartial on hot-button issues.
Trinity Schools Inc., where Barrett served on the board for three years and also sent at least three of her children, also opposes homosexuality, same-sex marriage and bars LGBTQ teachers from the classroom.
Republicans now want to question Jackson about whether her role at Montrose Christian School should be interpreted as an endorsement of its beliefs in the same way Democrats did to Barrett.
“I’ve served on so many boards, and I don’t necessarily agree with all of the statements, of all of the things that those boards might have in their materials,” Jackson told Republican Sen. Josh Hawley during her confirmation hearing to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She later clarified that she was not espousing any position, for or against, on the school’s beliefs.
“Any personal views about religion would never come into my service as a judge,” Jackson said.
How Jackson came to be associated with Montrose Christian School and why she apparently ended her affiliation after one year is not clear. The White House declined to comment. Former school head, Dr. Ken Fentress, did not respond to messages left by ABC seeking comment.
Matters of faith and religion have been raised during every modern Supreme Court confirmation process.
Sometimes the questioning has veered toward religious bigotry. In 1836, Roger B. Taney, the first Catholic elevated to the bench, faced intense scrutiny over alleged allegiance to the pope. Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish American justice, was hit with anti-Semitic attacks during his confirmation in 1916.
More recently, Christian conservatives voiced outrage in 2017 after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., probed then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholic beliefs, saying “the dogma lives loudly within you.” Some viewed the comment as anti-religious and derogatory.
“Overnight, Barrett became a legal celebrity, law students were wearing T-shirts sporting her face, and she moved to the top of the conservative SCOTUS wish list,” said Isgur. “It was a huge misstep by the Democrats in that sense and one I’d imagine Republicans learned from.”
Many recent Supreme Court nominees have openly talked about the influence of religion on their lives and outlook.
“I am religious, and I am a Catholic,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh told Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during his 2018 confirmation hearing. “And I grew up attending Catholic schools. And the Constitution of the United States foresaw that religious people or people who are not religious are all equally American.”
Justice Samuel Alito testified as a nominee in 2006 that the legacy of strong anti-Catholic sentiment in mid-nineteenth century America and its impact on his own family colors his view of discrimination cases. “I do take that into account,” he said.
“As you know — I don’t think it’s a secret — I am Jewish,” Justice Elena Kagan declared during her Senate confirmation hearing in 2010. “The state of Israel has meant a lot to me and my family.”
Senators from both sides of the aisle — and the nominees themselves — have all tended to directly disavow any relevance of individual faith to qualification to be a justice.
Justice Clarence Thomas, questioned in 1991 about a past statement suggesting religious values should be taught in public schools, insisted a “wall of separation” between church and state is “an important metaphor.”
Chief Justice John Roberts downplayed any judicial influence by his devout Catholic faith, flatly telling the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005: “My faith and my religious beliefs do not play a role in judging.”
During the 2017 confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch, then-Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., delicately broached the topic of religious bias with the nominee: “I would not ask you your religion or how you practice your faith,” Flake said. “If you can, just talk, in general, about what the role of faith is… on the courts, what role should it play?”
Gorsuch replied, “How far does my religious faith, your religious faith permit us to engage in things that our religion teaches are wrong, sinful? That is a matter of religious faith.”
In 2020, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., highlighted then-nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s conservative Catholic “tenets of faith” and asked for a public declaration: “Can you set aside whatever catholic beliefs you have regarding any issue before you?” he asked. “I can,” Barrett replied.
If confirmed, Jackson would become only the second Protestant justice on the current court, alongside Justice Gorsuch, who was raised Catholic but said during his 2017 confirmation hearing that his family attends an Episcopal church.
Six of the justices are Catholic; Justice Kagan is the only Jew.
“I’m certain her faith will come up in terms of how it has informed her views of the world and the law,” Isgur said, “but I doubt it will be a point of contention so much as a point of pride.”
(WASHINGTON) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is not planning to issue subpoenas to members of Congress who are alleged to have information regarding the events leading up to and surrounding the attack, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
While the panel had requested information from Republicans including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Scott Perry and Jim Jordan — all of whom swiftly rejected the requests — there have been no follow-up discussions with them about their cooperation, according to sources familiar with the panel’s work.
For a committee that’s been aggressive in its investigative efforts, moving ahead without compelling lawmakers to cooperate through a subpoena reflects a self-imposed limitation as committee members work to balance the legal, political and practical considerations.
In some cases, investigators don’t believe subpoenas are necessary, given information they have already obtained through other means, like witness testimony and evidence provided by other third parties, according to sources.
While such a move has not been formalized and sources caution that the committee’s plans could change, the emerging consensus is to proceed without taking this step.
Investigators have privately acknowledged that any efforts to try to enforce subpoenas would run into time constraints should Republicans take control of the House following the November midterm elections. Any potential subpoena to a lawmaker would likely face a complex and lengthy legal battle.
“The Select Committee is determined to get all relevant information and all options remain on the table,” a spokesperson for the committee told ABC News. “The committee’s investigation is uncovering new facts every day and we want to hear from all witnesses.”
The committee’s chairperson, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee was studying whether it had the ability to issue subpoenas to their colleagues. Thompson told ABC News in December that he wasn’t sure if they would be able to force members to cooperate.
“If we subpoena them and they choose not to come, I’m not aware of a real vehicle that we can force compliance,” Thompson said.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a member of the committee, said on ABC News’ “This Week” in December that he “absolutely” thinks his colleagues should be subpoenaed to testify before the committee if necessary.
The committee has disclosed that several GOP lawmakers communicated with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows before and during the Capitol attack, according to thousands of pages of emails and text messages Meadows turned over to the committee before he reversed course and refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Perry, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus who communicated with Meadows ahead of the attack, was the target of the committee’s first known request to a sitting Republican lawmaker.
The committee also said Perry played an “important role” in efforts to install former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as attorney general in the days before the Jan. 6 attack, as Clark was pushing unproven claims of election fraud.
Some Republicans have also made it clear that if they regain power in the House following the upcoming midterms, they would seek retribution against Democrats and associates of President Joe Biden over the committee’s investigation.
“Joe Biden has eviscerated Executive Privilege,” Rep. Jordan wrote on Twitter after former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon was charged in November with criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.
“There are a lot of Republicans eager to hear testimony from Ron Klain and Jake Sullivan when we take back the House,” Jordan wrote, referencing Biden’s chief of staff and national security adviser.
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.
Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Tuesday on Day 20:
Russians step up missile strikes on Kyiv as ground forces stall
Russian forces have gained little ground in Ukraine over recent days, according to the Pentagon. The closest invaders to Kyiv have been stalled roughly 9 to 12 miles northwest of the city’s center for nearly a week. Other troops advancing on the capital from the northeast are still 12 to 19 miles out, where they’ve been for at least four days.
But while its ground effort on Kyiv has been largely halted, Russia has ramped up its bombardment of the city, hitting residential areas with long-range missiles more frequently.
The pattern is similar across the country, including in the port city of Mariupol, which is being isolated by Russian forces and is suffering heavy bombardment.
Russia has now launched more than 950 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, according to the official. This is up from an estimated 900 on Monday.
A war with many fronts
Russian troops remain on the outskirts of Kharkiv, where they continue to meet strong Ukrainian resistance, according to the senior U.S. defense official.
Last week the official said Russian forces were ” just outside the city” of Mykolayiv. In Monday’s update the official said the U.S. has seen no new movement toward or past the city.
Pentagon officials have speculated that Russian troops might intend to take Mykolayiv to put themselves in position for a ground attack on the key port city of Odessa while other troops launch an amphibious assault from the Black Sea.
While the U.S. has observed several Russian landing craft operating in the northern Black Sea, so far there are no signs of an imminent amphibious movement toward Odessa, the official said.
Military power mostly intact
Despite 20 days of heavy fighting and losses on the Russian and Ukrainian sides, both countries have roughly 90% of their combat power still intact, according to the official. For Russia, that’s counting only the forces Russian President Vladimir Putin committed to the invasion.
“We have seen no movement of Russian forces stationed elsewhere in Russia being deployed to the west to reinforce the [battalion tactical groups] the Russians already have in Ukraine,” the official said. “And we’ve seen no evidence of Russian efforts to flow in additional supplies from inside Russia or from elsewhere, but we have reason to believe the Russians are considering their resupply and manning options.”
There are also no indications at this point that Belarus is preparing to send troops of its own to join the invasion, the official added.
US weapons to Ukraine
Weapons from the United States and other nations continues to flow into Ukraine, including over the last 24 hours, the official said.
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic Women’s Caucus gathered Tuesday morning to highlight the gender pay gap on Equal Pay Day.
“They call this Equal Pay Day, but I like to call it ‘Unequal Pay Day’ because that’s the message that we are conveying today,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.
Formerly known as National Pay Inequity Awareness Day, the day — which fluctuates year to year — was first recognized in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity. It is the date by which women’s average full-time wages catch up to men’s from the previous year. This year, it falls right in the middle of Women’s History Month.
“It’s not acceptable for me to see my sisters in the workplace, and getting paid less,” said House Democratic Women’s Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich. “So I want you to know, I will talk about this every year, but hopefully next year — I keep hope alive — next year, we’ll be saying we finally got it right.”
“And I will end with a statement that I know my speaker is going to say again, but when women succeed, America succeeds,” Lawrence added.
Women on average currently make 83 cents for every dollar earned by men — but that figure differs based on race.
Speier noted that “African American women are making 58 cents on the dollar and Latina women are making 49 cents on the dollar.”
“The pay gap reflects outright discrimination as well as barriers that women face in accessing good-paying jobs and meeting caregiving responsibilities — including a lack of affordable child care, paid family and medical leave and fair and predictable scheduling — which often prevent women from joining and staying in the workforce,” President Joe Biden wrote in a proclamation recognizing the day.
The Office of Personnel Management will also propose a regulation to “address the use of prior salary history in the hiring and pay-setting process for Federal employees,” according to a fact sheet released Tuesday by the Biden administration.
Ahead of an event Tuesday evening with the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the White House at the Equal Pay Day Summit.
“Our economy just has not been working as it should for the women of our nation,” she said.
“If we are going to continue to grow our economy and to be competitive and lead the world in the 21st century, we simply cannot afford to leave half of our workforce behind,” Harris said. “To build an economy that works for all of us, we must build an economy that works for women. That is one of our administration’s central missions.”
In addition to the summit, Harris met with current and former members of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team to talk about equal pay,after they settled their equal pay lawsuit with U.S. Soccer.
Harris praised the women for their work on the field and also for raising awareness of the fight for equal pay.
“Obviously, you all have been champions in terms of your skills and your dominance in terms of women’s soccer. But we are here today because you also have been leaders on an issue that affects most women and has affected most women in the workforce and it’s the issue of pay equity,” Harris said.
Harris and the players spoke about their fight, and the things they fought for beyond just compensation including playing surfaces, massage therapists and even things as simple as bagels after practice.
While the vice president tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, she did not attend the evening Equal Pay Day event “out of an abundance of caution” after her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, tested positive, according to the vice president’s office.
The wage gap is an immediate problem that leads to less money in women’s pockets but that it also has cumulative effects, according to Sarah Jane Glynn, a senior adviser with the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau.
She noted that women are less likely to have retirement savings and more likely to solely rely on Social Security and end up living in poverty in their old age.
The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau released a report Tuesday titled, “Bearing the Cost: How Overrepresentation in Undervalued Jobs Disadvantaged Women During the Pandemic,” which discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s place in the workforce.
“The industries that women were in had the most significant job losses,” Glynn said. “So that’s a big part of the reason why we saw much higher unemployment numbers for women and why women experienced the majority of job losses during 2020.”
During the morning press conference, Speier brought up the need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which addresses wage inequity based on gender. The bill passed in the House but has stalled in the Senate.
And the speakers expressed hope that the fight for equal pay will soon be a thing of the past.
“We, as women in this country, we know we add value to our economy, to our communities, to the overall safety of this country,” Lawrence said. “And we demand the respect and to be valued by paying us a wage that is equal.”
(WASHINGTON) — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the vice president’s office.
“Earlier today, the Second Gentleman tested positive for COVID-19,” Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the vice president, said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, the Vice President will not participate in tonight’s event [on Equal Pay Day]. The Vice President tested negative for COVID-19 today and will continue to test.”
Asked if Biden is being tested again this evening given his proximity to Harris earlier, the White House pointed out that isn’t required by COVID protocols.
Biden, as far as we know, was last tested on Sunday, and was negative.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(BOISE, Idaho) — A bill that seeks to prevent most abortions from occurring in Idaho has just passed in the state legislature and is heading to the governor’s desk.
The bill is the first in the country to be modeled after the recent law passed in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant.
Idaho’s bill prohibits abortions after six weeks and allows the father, grandparents, siblings, uncles or aunts of the fetus to sue a medical provider who performs the procedure.
Family members can sue for a minimum of $20,000 within four years of an abortion. While a rapist wouldn’t be allowed to sue, their family members could.
The state House of Representatives passed the bill Monday night 51-14, almost exclusively along party lines, after the state Senate passed the bill earlier this month.
“This bill makes sure that the people of Idaho can stand up for our values and do everything in our power to prevent the wanton destruction of innocent human life,” state Rep. Steven Harris, a Republican and the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement following the vote.
The bill is now heading to Republican Gov. Brad Little’s desk to await his signature.
Little signed a similar “fetal heartbeat” bill into law last year that bans abortions after a fetus’ heartbeat is detected, and he is expected to sign this one as well.
The governor’s office did not reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
There are a few differences between the Idaho bill and the Texas law.
Both allow for exceptions in the case of a medical emergency, but the Texas law does not allow for exceptions in cases of rape or incest whereas the Idaho bill does allow for such exceptions.
However, women who want an abortion under those exceptions are required to file a police report and show it to the medical provider before the abortion.
Another difference between the two pieces of legislation is that the Idaho bill only allows for certain family members of the fetus to sue the medical provider who performed the abortion, but the Texas law allows almost any private citizen to sue any Texas doctor who performs an abortion, intends to perform an abortion or helps a woman receive an abortion.
Kim Clark, senior attorney at Legal Voice — a non-profit organization advocating for the legal rights of women, girls and LGBTQ people in the Northwest — said this could lead to women in abusive relationships being further harassed by their partners.
“This essentially makes the state complicit in intimate partner violence,” Clark told ABC News. “Allowing a member of the person’s family to bring a claim, that could include an abuser where the survivor hasn’t reported the assault.”
She continued, “When women are unable to access abortion care, rates of homicide or harm to other children can skyrocket.”
A November 2021 study from Tulane University in New Orleans found more pregnant women die by homicide every year than other pregnancy-related causes.
Compared to non-pregnant women of the same age, pregnant women were 16% more likely to die by homicide, the study found.
Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln, the Idaho programs manager for Legal Voice, said she doesn’t think lawmakers are trying to prevent unwanted pregnancies, pointing out that the Idaho House on Monday night also voted down a bill that would allow women to receive a six-month maximum supply of contraceptive prescriptions, up from three months.
“The same body voted down a contraception bill that would allow women to get birth control for up to six months,” she told ABC News. “They don’t really care about preventing unwanted pregnancies. This is about political control.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will to travel to Brussels next week to meet with NATO leaders in his first visit to Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his violent invasion of Ukraine, the White House announced Tuesday.
At the show of unity on March 24, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, Biden will “reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies.”
His trip follows the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic heading to Kyiv on Tuesday, as shelling continues there, in a show of support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the danger on the ground.
Just before the White House announcement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted, “I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at #NATO HQ. We will address #Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence & defence. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together.”
Biden will also join a scheduled European Council summit “to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence and address other challenges related to the conflict,” Psaki said.
The goal of Biden’s trip to Brussels will be to meet “face-to-face” with his European counterparts to assess Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she said.
“We’ve been incredibly aligned to date. That doesn’t happen by accident,” she said. “The president’s a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy. So, it’s an opportunity to do exactly that.”
She added that the NATO meeting is the “real focus right now,” and wouldn’t say if Biden will be making additional stops in Poland or to meet with refugees.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
